‘Batman: Arkham Origins’ To Continue Video Game Series Without Rocksteady

As previously reported, a third game in the Batman Arkham series, Batman: Arkham Origins, is coming out this year, Game Informer has revealed. It'll be out on October 25. But it's not what fans of the series might expect, for a few reasons.

Here's what we know about it so far: It's a prequel that will take place before either of the other two games in the series and will feature a young Batman meeting many key characters (so far, only Deathstroke has been confirmed). The big news, though, is that Rocksteady Studios, the developer that helmed Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, won't be involved this time. Warner Bros. Games Montreal is taking the reins.

Gamers worried that the new installment in the series will have a different look can rest assured WB Games Montreal will be using the same engine as Rocksteady did.

Eric Holmes, who oversaw the design of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and Prototype will head up the team behind Arkham Origins. Holmes has also written comics, namely IDW's Transformers: Megatron Origin miniseries.

The Wii U, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC version of the game will be released in tandem with the first handheld game in the Arkham series (not counting the mobile Batman: Arkham City Lockdown). Arkham Origins Blackgate for the Nintendo 3DS and Sony PlayStation Vita will be a 2.5D, Metroid-style game from Armature Studio, whose founders worked on the Metroid Prime trilogy of games.

You can check out a developer diary trailer for Arkham Origins below.

[Via GameInformer]